After all the work done in the basement throughout the summer, I decided it was finally time to enjoy it a little. That required more work. The shower down there was filled with junk and the floor covered with paint, so throughout the week I sorted it out and cleaned it up. And then, I cleaned the sauna, as we haven't had a sauna at home for about four years. Of course, no one knew I did any of this, much like lots of the work I do, so when at the gym I asked my wife if she wanted to have a sauna tonight, she said no, because of all the stuff in there.
No one notices what I do.
Everyone notices what I don't do.
Anyways... While the sauna isn't great (as far as Finnish saunas go), its saving grace is that it is wood-fired, which is rare to have in a home in the city. It is common in the country and at summer cottages, but in the city it is usually electric. The thing that makes it not that great is that when the people who lived here before us renovated it, they did it themselves. And like lots of things these people did, they didn't do it well. The cost of rebuilding is out of our price range at the moment, so we will have to make do with what we have.
It is good enough for a half decent sauna still.
Note: The tap in the picture above is connected to a water compartment in the sauna stove (kiuas in Finnish) that would get heated to incredibly hot using the fire next to it. We don't use it, but this stove is more for a summer cottage I suspect. We have a shower.*
It might seem a bit strange for some, because having a sauna sounds like a luxury item in most countries, but the number of saunas here is very high. Around 50% of all Finnish homes have a sauna, but if looking at detached houses (not apartments or row houses), it is almost 100% that have a sauna. I have never been in a detached house without a sauna here. And essentially everyone has access to a sauna, as all apartment buildings have a shared sauna that has shared times for all, and bookable weekly shifts. Having a sauna is definitely part of the culture here.
Which means, so is nudity.
It is actually quite funny, because while I would have thought it a bit weird to get naked with family and friends when in Australia, it is very normal here. Depending on the relationship it is also common with friend to do split shifts with women and men separated, that isn't always the case. It is also normal for children to go to sauna with the parents, even when adults, which freaks some people out, as if it is something from Game of Thrones. But, there is nothing sexual about it at all. It is more like the back seat of a car, people sit there and travel from place to place - but occasionally a couple might have sex there too. It isn't the back seat that is sexual, just like it isn't the sauna that is sexual.
I have always found it pretty strange how some cultures are so hung up on nudity of even the smallest kind. Nipple slips of stars, or ankle slips I guess for the women in countries that force their women to wear head-to-toe sheets. It is all so immature, as if a little bit of skin means so much and people can't control themselves. But I think that is the issue with people thinking being naked in the sauna is weird, because it speaks to the mind (and conditioning) of the people judging. We have been told to be ashamed of our bodies, to cover them up, to hide them away, and if they are seen, it has to be sexual - which is kind of strange, considering the only reason humans started to wear clothing, was to stay warm. It wasn't out of shame or to limit sexual desire.
And it is also kind of strange how so many people are still hung up on nudity, considering it has become *incredibly common to see, considering internet access. You'd think that thirty years of internet porn would have desensitized us and made us less prudish in this respect, but no. And then there are those who talk about "morality" based on nudity and sexual activity, while the same people are happy to send soldiers to a place on the other side of the world they cannot pronounce to kill people for natural resources.
Our bodies are a natural resource too.
Most of us use what we have poorly.
That is for another article - for now, I feel relaxed and happy to just chill.
Ever had a proper sauna?
Taraz
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